Rated 2 out of
5 by
Bullseals from
Product performs well but has some issuesThe sand paper clamps gave out quickly. The sand paper slip out of the clamps easily. Made sand frustrating. The power on and off button in a poor place. I constantly turned the power off while griping the sander. It would be better suited somewhere not on the palm portion of the sander. When the paper stayed on and I did not inadvertently turn the sander off. The sander did a fine job

Date published: 2017-06-25

Rated 5 out of
5 by
GrandpaBob from
Great Sander - if you make your own Custom SheetsI see a lot of complaints about the clamps that hold the sandpaper. My clamps are very strong and they work great. I like the design. The problem is a standard 1/4 sheet is only 5.5 inches long. Therefore the paper is barely long enough to get the paper under the clamp, leaving you about 1/4 inch to divide on each side. It is very, very frustrating to try and divide about 1/4" (1/8" on each side) to allow at least some paper under the clamp. I resolved this problem by cutting my own sheets 4.5 x 6 inches. I even like to make it 6.25 inches which gives you plenty of length. DUST: You can punch holes by using the paper punch template included or a standard paper puncher which allows more dust to pull through to the dust collector bag. You can also connect a vacuum hose to the sander by removing the bag. This is a strong work horse with a frustrating paper (clamp) issue. Make these adjustments and you have a great tool I wore out my runner pad, but easily ordered three replacements to have on hand. If Ridgid make a longer sheet for this sander I would sure like to know where to get them.

Date published: 2017-01-28

Rated 2 out of
5 by
Covertcamguy from
Front clip will no longer hold sand paperAfter four furniture sanding jobs (flat sutfaces only with this tool) the front clip no longer holds paper finer than 80 grit. I figure the front clip is worn from sanding in four steps using a rough grit for quite a bit of the work. 1) used 60 grit, 2) used 120 grit, 3) used 180 grit, 4) used 220 grit. I will register this tool tomorrow and see if Rigid will repair it.

Date published: 2016-11-05

Rated 1 out of
5 by
ezski1 from
My opinion on the front clip problemTonight I was using my sander and i couldn't help but think how great it was (at first). The paper is easy to change, it came with a case, and IT DOES COME WITH A HOLE PUNCH!
Then i started having the front of the papers pop out of the sander. At first i thought it was fluke but then it started happening all the time even with new sheets.
I went online and googled the problem and came to the review at this site. Yes the reviews are correct you will eventually start to have this problem with the product. I have had my sander a while and some people say 10 hours before the problem starts to happen. I can't say if it is 10 hours but it will start to happen. I am sorry rigid, for that reason, this is a product defect. Read on to find out the cause....
I couldn't understand why a product would work fine for so long and then just start letting the front of the paper go. There had to be a reason, and, here is what i think it is....
1. IF you pull the front clip open as far as it can go you will see that where the clip contacts the paper it looks rough and maybe white and hazy. From repeated use the soft plastic clip starts to get very rough which leads to point 2.
2. I notice (IMO) than when the front clip is worn and rough it actually pushes the paper away from the clip when it tries to clamp down. This little push causes the paper to move forward and the clip does not have as big a "bite" on the paper any longer. It is the rough edge of the clip pushing the rough side of the paper forward. When the clip is newer it slides over the top of the paper. Perhaps the spring is a little stronger but read on to see a work around. Read point 3 for THE band aid FIX!
3. Yes i have sort of a fix for this, that is until i get this sander in for service. Given that the clip used to be smooth and the sandpaper rough i needed to find a way to make it that again. What i did (more to test my theory) was to take a some black shinny glossy duct tape and cut a strip about 1/2 inch wide. I then taped over the tip of the sand paper with the tape on both the front and back of the sand paper (folding it over at the end). You only need to do this on the front of the paper. Now 2 things seem to help in doing this. a.) The paper is a bit thicker perhaps addressing a weakened spring and b.) the clip now making contact with the smooth shinny tape slides on the paper and does not cause it to push the paper forward any longer. I have used this workaround on at least 8 quarters of paper and it has not let go once.
This clip issue is a big problem and if i had to buy a sander again i would look for one with 2 clamp clips like the rigid has on the back of the sander. Sure my fix idea slows down paper changes but and no contractor is going to cut little pieces of duct tape for each piece of paper. I do it cause it works and lets me still use the sander. I will still be contacting service to test out this "legendary" Rigid warrenty
About the comments on the dust collection. It is true this little bag does not catch much dust at all. The fan of the sander seems to blow more air out the side of the sander than in the bag causing softer woods to make dust everywhere.
The truth of the matter is that i like the way this sander feels in my hand and its performance. That is what the rep sold me on when i bought it and to that effect it lives up to those two qualities. I generally use a vacuum on mine so the bag doesn't bother me as much and i don't know what other sanders perform like but with a vacuum attached there is little to no dust on the project. It does get annoying when i get into tight spots and i have to take the hose off.
I own many rigid and dewalt products. All of my rigid products are great with the exception of this one. I would buy any of them over again with the exception of this sander. The shame of it is that if this sander did a better job with the dust and holding the paper it would be a 10 out of 10 for me.
oh and PS if any one from rigid is reading this, every one of my orange tools has a case except your belt sander. YES it matters.
Thanks for reading

Date published: 2016-05-26

Rated 1 out of
5 by
Jarred420 from
Same issue as all the othersI purchased this product to replace the DeWalt model I borrowed from my father. Never have I been so unhappy with a RIDGID product. The front sandpaper holder is WORTHLESS, it holds coarse grit sandpaper OK for a while but it wont hold really fine grit paper AT ALL. Now its down to being very little better than a corded paperweight. I will be replacing this with a different brand very soon. This is very sad as I tend to be very loyal to RIDGID in all my tools i.e. Currently owned, Belt Sander, Random Orbital, 1/4 sheet pad, 3 piece air compressor, 1/2 inch 18 volt compact drill, 1/2 inch 18 volt hammer drill, 18 volt X4 impact driver, 18 volt X5 impact Driver. I feel that RIDGID needs to make a design change ASAP for the hold down or they wont be able to sell any sanders at all.

Date published: 2016-03-18

Rated 1 out of
5 by
dsoro78 from
Avoid - Faulty ProductAs per all other reviews here, this sander works great for a few hours of use. After 10hrs or so, the front clip will stop holding sandpaper rendering it essentially useless.
A secondary, but minor, issue is the sawdust collector. It doesn't work at all.
The sander did perform well before this issue, but DO NOT BUY, as the front sandpaper holding clip is essential.
This sander is now a useless piece of equipment, and I'm hoping it will be replaced, as it's clearly a design defect.
For reference: My entire tool collection is Rigid. All other products I own from the company are excellent. I've also used them 10x more than this sander, and they are bombproof. This is the ugly duckling of the product line

Date published: 2016-01-10

Rated 2 out of
5 by
billyfaith from
Same problem as most people the sand paper will not hold in the front clip anymore.I would like rigid to respond to all the complaints about the sand paper not holding in the front clip anymore. Is this a defect? Will they stand by their product and send out a complimentary replacement part? Thank you.

Date published: 2015-12-16

Rated 1 out of
5 by
tiabos from
front clip doesnt hold sand paperwe used the sander about 3-4 years ago for about 10 hours.
total.
we decided to use it again this year and it won't hold sand paper on front of unit the back holds well but not the front.
start sanding and it kicks out the paper.
also you can't find any paper with holes.
I have a Makita and they gave you a hole punch for the sander.
this one didn't give you that.

replacement 1/4 sheet sandpaper with holes

Where can I purchase replacement 1/4 sheet hook &amp; loop sandpaper with the holes already punched into them for my Ridgid sander?
If you no longer make them with the holes already in them, where do I get the hole puncher?

Asked by: stevep

You can order one with this part #520512001 but it should of came with one.